Jordan's Ministry of Labour has issued over 106,000 work permits for Syrian refugees so far while the number of workers in the informal economy remains at an estimated 300,000, The Jordan Times reported Wednesday (July 18th).
"The engagement of refugees with the informal economy is one of the most worrisome factors when gauging the impact of the refugee crisis on the Jordanian labour market," said Hamdan Yacoub, head of the Syrian Refugees Department at the Ministry of Labour.
His remarks came during a Saturday (July 14th) seminar organised by Tamkeen Fields for Aid, which examined the impact of the presence of Syrian refugee workers on the Jordanian labour market.
The issuance of work permits does not affect the value of the assistance provided by humanitarian organisations to Syrian refugees, several stakeholders present at the seminar said.
Work permits are a regulatory procedure aimed at protecting the rights of guest labourers in accordance with the provisions of Jordan's Labour Law, they said.
"Our stand as the Ministry of Labour is to preserve the rights of Jordanian citizens to work while facilitating Syrian refugees’ access to the labour market in accordance with the Jordan Compact," Yacoub said.
The Jordan Compact was signed by Jordan and the international community in February 2016 to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis.
Under the agreement, Jordan would receive support from the international community to help it shoulder the burden of the 1.3 million Syrian refugees it is hosting.
Jordan pledged under the compact to facilitate Syrians’ access to the labour market in return for donors’ aid.
